2 September 2014 - Ellen Margrethe Løj’s appointment as UNMISS chief was a “huge and difficult” challenge, but it was impossible to turn it down because the South Sudanese people fought hard for their independence, the top Mission official told Radio Miraya in an exclusive interview today.

“I strongly believe that your sons and daughters should be able to focus on realizing their potential and not worry about whether they will be killed tomorrow or whether they will go hungry to bed,” said the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General (SRSG) for South Sudan during her first day in her new post. .

Ms. Løj noted that although there are about 100,000 displaced people seeking shelter at UNMISS bases, there are “probably more than a million internally displaced in the whole country.”

“It is really a challenge that peace be established and the weapons are silent to give the citizens confidence to return to their villages,” she said. “In the meantime, we have to do what we can to protect them, to ensure that they as individual citizens feel safe.”

The UNMISS chief clarified that although the mission’s current mandate has authorized a force of up to 12,500 troops, it does not carry a lot of military weight.

“In describing the mandate, the Security Council very clearly put the citizens of South Sudan in the centre,” she said.

Ms. Løj stressed that the mandate is about protecting civilians, monitoring and reporting on human rights, facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance and providing support to the peace process led by the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

“The mandate is very much focused on the boys and girls, men and women of South Sudan and … assisting in creating a system or a situation that can give them a better future,” the SRSG said.

Asked about criticism that UN missions and interventions around the world fail to effectively address the root causes of conflicts, Ms. Løj said a peacekeeping mission can only assist in such a process.

“In a country coming out of conflict – a fragile country – a solution to address root causes cannot be imposed from abroad,” she said. “If you really want to solve those issues, there has to be national ownership.”

She emphasized that it was vital to involve all segments of society like churches, civil society, women’s and youth organisations.

Ms. Løj said she hoped to establish a constructive, mutually respectful cooperation between the mission and the government, as well as with other interlocutors in the country.

“I know in the past there have been certain disputes (in regard to) respect for the Status of Forces Agreement (with the government),” she said. “I understand that the situation has improved and it is certainly my hope that we will not be bogged down in details about that.”